


Let It Begin

by webhead3019



Series: Let Us Know: The Beginning and the End [1]
Category: Let Me In (2010)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 04:25:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16569620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webhead3019/pseuds/webhead3019
Summary: Prequel about Abby meeting Thomas for the first time that covers a 3 week period from the end of 1935 to the beginning of 1936, making Thomas 14 at the time of this story.





	1. Follow the Footprints

It was a chilly December evening. The 18th to be exact and the last Wednesday before Christmas, 1935. It was 6 o'clock, but the sun set an hour ago. The small town of Woodstock, Virginia, was eternally locked in daylight savings around suppertime.

Thomas followed a pair of feet tracking the snow. The trail didn't display just any footprints. You could clearly see the outline of toes. Thomas fixed his glasses, so the spectacles centered with his beady brown eyes. How could someone possibly walk barefoot in the snow?

Thomas slicked his short black hair to the side. Ever the curious one, Thomas proceeded to stalk the source of the footprints. The trail seemed to go on for what felt like ages. Granted, the freezing weather sure didn't make time fly any faster.

Thomas never walked by this way before. The more Thomas walked down it, the more he wondered why he pursued it in the first place. Thomas half expected to discover the evidence of frostbite. No such find presented itself.

Where the trail did lead him, on the other hand, ended at a peculiar park bench. A girl was seated upon the bench. What do you know? The girl happened to not be properly fitted for the occasion.


	2. Girl in the Snow

The girl possessed only on a scarf and a light fleece sweater. The girl's hands were tucked into the folds of her sweater, suggesting she didn't own gloves, despite being covered in what little she did have. Below the waist, the girl fashioned in black leggings.

As far as the feet were concerned, Thomas had spotted his culprit. How uncanny. Why the girl's feet weren't blocks of ice was beyond Thomas. The girl was surviving on spare essentials. The girl had a cute, alabaster face. She didn't look to be far younger than Thomas.

The girl was likely 12, while Thomas was aged 14, a child of April. The girl's hair was dirty blonde and straight, mixed with a touch of precipitated frost. The girl didn't even wear a knit cap to keep her head warm. The girl didn't seem to take note of the gawking Thomas.

The girl instead likened to gaze off into the starlit night sky. So stricken was she by the stars, the girl had to be a creature of the night. Thomas walked up to the bench and held out his hand to greet the girl, "Hi. I'm Thomas." The girl looked blankly at Thomas for a moment.

The girl didn't appear at all vocal. The girl raised her hand to return the gesture, before pausing halfway up with a confused look. The girl wasn't wearing any gloves. The sudden escape from the confines of her sweater did not visibly make the girl chilly.

Thomas joked, "No need to be shy. I don't bite." Thomas made a silly motion with his hands and teeth. Judging by the girl's expression or lack thereof, Thomas was welcomed with an absence of humor. With nothing better to do, Thomas sat down next to the girl, opting to not carry through with the handshake.

The girl did not appear annoyed. Moreover the girl gave off an aura of indifference. Thomas looked down to study the girl's feet again and observed the fact she carried no belongings with her. Thomas asked, "Don't you have a knapsack or a purse? How did you get all the way out here anyway?"

The girl merely cocked her head attentively. Did the girl even speak English? The girl didn't seem like she was from around here. That is, the girl did not give the impression she was a natural-born citizen of Woodstock, Virginia. This much Thomas was certain.

Thomas wondered, "You're a runaway. Aren't you?" Unsurprisingly, the girl did not respond to this question either. Thomas smirked in assumed concurrence, "Me too." Thomas inched a little closer to the girl.

Right when Thomas was beginning to think he was attempting to socialize with a mute, the girl at last broke her code of silence. On the other hand, she kept her eyes on the horizon. The girl addressed Thomas dryly, "Haven't I seen you before?" So she does speak.


	3. She Speaks!

Thomas felt as though he achieved a breakthrough. Thomas expressed his sense of accomplishment in the form of a deep exhale, "Likely. It's not as if there is much place else to go. Seriously though. What are you doing?"

Thomas asked, "Don't you think it's... pardon me. Don't you think it's too cold out here?" The girl replied sullenly, "I'm just hungry is all." Thomas snorted, "So that's your story! You just came out here to feed on rabbits or squirrels." The girl grimaced.

It was a disapproving scowl, to which Thomas defensively wagged his hands. Thomas apologized, "Sorry. I might have rubbed you off the wrong way." Thomas bit his lip with a face full of mental debate.

Thomas scooped both of the girl's hands and breathes hot air into them. The girl looked at Thomas with a bewildered yet passive look, "What are you doing?" Thomas exclaimed, "Your hands are freezing! You'll catch a cold!"

The girl cluelessly replied, "I don't feel cold." Thomas probed, "Well... what do you feel?" The girl shifted her hand, "Warmth." Thomas squeezes tighter instinctively. The girl asked, "Why don't you let go?"

Thomas took to a defensive, "Let go? Let go of what?" The girl answered calm as ever, "My hand." Thomas apologized again, "I must have spaced out. Would you like it if I stopped?" The girl became silent once more and returned her eyes to the stars. Thomas mirrored the girl's curiosity.

There was something mysterious to the girl, other than the fact Thomas just met her. It felt like she was restraining herself from revealing some dark secret. Still, Thomas couldn't help but feel comforted in her company. Thomas took in the infinite vastness of the sky above.

Together, Thomas and his newfound companion watched the twinkle and shine of what had to be one thousand stars. Thomas felt this peculiar feeling. This moment was different from all the times Thomas observed the sky in his spare time. Never had Thomas felt such an emotional connection.


	4. My Name is Abby

Thomas asked, "Are you going to stay the night?" The girl answered simply, "No." Thomas nodded his head, "Where will you go?" The girl replied again, "Somewhere safe." The girl followed up shortly, "I don't live out here." Thomas agreed, "I don't see how you could live out here."

The girl looked at Thomas, "You should go somewhere safe as well." Thomas asked, "Why?" The girl answered, "You will catch a cold of course." Thomas looked back at the ground, "Where would I go?" The girl swung to her feet and sighed, "There's a post office at the edge of town. The couple running the place caters to the homeless."

The girl finished, "You can sleep over there, but only for a night." The girl offered a hand to help Thomas to his feet. Maybe the girl knew more than she let on at first sight. Thomas happily joined her with his left hand. Thomas was easily a head taller, yet she supported his weight surprisingly well for a girl. In fact, she didn't exhibit any strength whatsoever.

Thomas dusted the snow off his buttocks and asked, "Is this where you're headed?" The girl responded, "No. I'll be a while longer. Even if I wished to join you, I don't dine well with others." The girl sighed, "Now that I went out of my way, I suppose it's only proper. My name is Abby."

Abby didn't bother waiting up to shake Thomas' hand. Abby broke stance and led the way. Thomas followed suit, his feet sinking into the snow. The snow was ankle-deep, so Thomas was forced to trudge across the surface. Abby's feet also disappeared into the snow, but the way she glided across the blanket was the work of angels.


	5. Where the Trail Ends

Abby never once trembled, nor did she chatter her teeth. Thomas was the polar opposite of Abby. Thomas shivered uncontrollably, keeping his dark grey scarf wrapped tightly across his throat and chin. Even though, Thomas' fingers were tucked safely into his pockets, he still felt chilled to the bone.

Abby's feet was slightly discolored from the frost and dirt, but there wasn't a single chip in them. Thomas wondered aloud, "I don't know how you do it, Abby. Out here... in this weather. You must be immortal." Abby didn't respond. She wasn't one to waste words.

Abby's stomach groaned. Abby clutched her waist with expressive discomfort. Alarmed, Thomas asked, "Are you going to be okay? You've been doing that a lot ever since we left." Abby gritted her teeth, "The sooner I eat, the better." Thomas remarked, "Look on the bright side. We can raid the icebox once we make it to the station."

Abby protested sadly, "Thomas... I can't. My diet is too particular." Thomas bit his lip apologetically, "Oh. Sorry for that. If it's too much of a hassle, you didn't have to come all this way." Abby returned to her usual reclusive self. Thomas noticed a certain building in the horizon.

Thomas' face lit up, awash with joy, "I see the place now! It's just like you said, Abby. That didn't take as long as I thought it would." Abby didn't utter a word. Thomas looked around, "Abby?" Abby was nowhere to be found. Abby departed as quietly as Thomas had discovered her.


	6. The Dark Road Ahead

It's Thursday the 19th now. A white sun arose, illuminating the sky. A partially-eaten John Doe had been discovered at the crack of dawn. It was 5:35 now. 11 minutes passed since the initial report. A 1934 Ford police paddy wagon pulled over to the side of the icy road. This was unlike any other case handled by the Woodstock Police Department.

Both side doors popped open and out shoved the Sheriff and his aspiring cadet. The Sheriff didn't bother to leave his light running. He would be in and out as soon as he tagged the body. The situation was fairly straight-forward. The cause of death was unquestionably a murder, considering the mauling of the body.

With the Sheriff navigating the still naïve Deputy under his wing, any further investigation regarding the case is to be pursued by a separate pair of inspectors. It wasn't hard to find the body in question. The corpse stood out in the white snow. The body belonged to a 15 year old boy, the boy's throat ripped to shreds. The Deputy stepped outside the crime scene and threw up into a bush.

The Sheriff grumbled lifelessly, "Ah, hell. That's little Billy alright. The Mortons are going to be ticked." The Sheriff blinked, "Hm? Well... this is interesting." The Sheriff picked up a stick and prodded at an icicle puncturing the boy's chest plate.

The Sheriff explained, "The mess of a throat that used to connect the poor kid’s head is a much older wound than that of the impaling. It's almost as if our killer in question was worried the dead would rise again." Disgusted, the Deputy bellyached, "Awful. This looks more animal than man." The Sheriff inquired, "Or child?"

The Deputy replied, "I don't understand." The Sheriff used the stick to swish around the chunked up flesh in the boy's throat. The Sheriff responded, "Look closely. Those bite marks look fully formed to you? The teeth may look like fangs, but we all know raccoons don’t stick stakes through people after a good bite."

The Sheriff continued, “Given the ferocity though, I would say whoever or whatever made this stopped physical development a lifetime ago. A growth symptom perhaps?” The Deputy gulped, "Do you really think that's possible?" The Sheriff sighed, "I don't know. I recognize this world less and less.”

The Sheriff declared, “I’ve been working in this county for 16 years. Not once have I had to write up a suspected homicide case. We're looking at Woodstock's first unique murder of the 20th century.” The Sheriff waited for the Deputy to gather himself again before adding, “We received at least 2 missing person reports this past week. Poor souls have yet to turn up."

The Sheriff stated solemnly, "It's a small town, deputy. We've never had real problems. I wouldn't be so hasty to pass this as an unrelated incident. If my hunch is right, we have ourselves a regular now." The tired Sheriff turned to the Deputy, "We'll be out the second dispatch arrives with cones and chalk. Catch some rest, rookie. It's a dark road ahead."


End file.
